I’m back – with the Expat Meme

The fact that I have come back from my holiday with the best tan I’ve had all summer seem to me to be an indication of the dismal summer we’ve been having in England. I mean… long, languid days; mosquito sprays; sundresses; and sultry, humid nights aren’t the first things that spring to mind when you think of Austria, are they? But that’s exactly what I’ve been enjoying over the past 10 days. No doubt I will be posting about it all here soon, but for now I will merely say that we have slept in 7 cities since 17 August; had two Michelin-starry tastingmenus; gorged on leberkäse and käsekrainers, seen The Kiss again, had my fill of schlagobers, eaten flammenkueche in Heidelberg and tasted Champagne in Champagne. Just to mention a few highlights 😉

But to ease myself back into this blogging lark, I thought I’d kick off gently with a meme that’s been flating round the blogosphere for a while – the Expat meme. I found it on Charlotte’s wonderful blog and as a fellow South-African expat, I thought I’d join in.

5) Name five things you love in your new country

the plentiful, safe and reliable public transport

the proximity to wonderful, wonderful Europe (Paris in particular!) and its food, art, architecture, history and general wonderfulness

seeing the beautiful St Paul’s cathedral every day as I walk from the station to work

sunset at about 10pm in the middle of summer

the postal service. OMG, does it work efficiently!!

4) Name four things you miss from your native country

my two best friends, my brother and my two nephews

walking on Robberg Beach early in the morning and finding a pansyshell

the sound of crickets at night and the smell of rain on hot tarred roads

the abundance friendly, smiling people everywhere who love to chat

3) Name three things that annoy you in your new country

the general rudeness and anger of strangers in London. Everybody just seems to be looking for an excuse to fly off the handle and punch somebody else. It really is every man for himself.

the fact that no courier, delivery or utility company will make a fixed appointment to see you – it’s always "we have a slot from noon to 6pm available". What – like I don’t have to work for a living and sit home on the sofa eating chocolates all afternoon?!

not being able to speak to a real person in this country at my bank. And you can forget about having your branch manager’s name, much less his telephone number!

2) Name two things that surprise you (or surprised you when you arrived) in your new country

crazy health and safety rules. No school ties in case one kid strangles another. Life belts around a decorative pond that’s like a foot deep. People in the office freaking out when you pick up anything heavier than a paperclip.

the obsession with post codes. People don’t tell you the name of the suburb that they live in – they’ll say smugly "I live in N1" – like that means something to a fresh-off-the-boat Saffer!

1) Name one thing you would miss in your new country if you had to leave

thanks jeanne, I’ll try to figure out this meme thing. I’ve missed you while you were gone, but it seems like you had a fabulous time. Excuse me while I just try to tone down the green. Can’t wait to see the WTSIM roundup. Just been peeking at the passionate cook (or your erstwhile partner in crime). Hers looks like something out of an Australian Gourmet Traveller. Can’t you ban her for excess aesthetic value or something?

Hello there! Sailing in the blogosphere I found your interesting blog. I know in Southafrica now many races are living in peace, Im very happy because this. I think we have to learn about our past errors…:) If you want, visit my blogs, you can use my translation on mnovilwagg, the principal one. Warm greetings from Chile!! Keep blogging…

Welcome back Jeanne and glad to hear that Europe provided you not only with great food (how fantastic are Flammkuechen?) but a tan too! I was probably in Italy when you swung through Heidelberg, but the next time you come, please let me know so that we can meet up. I can relate to all the things you miss about South Africa and all the good and bad things about the UK. That bank thing is truly irritating.

What an interesting meme. Interesting that the things you like over here are the things lots of us complain about/take for granted (the postal service and public transport, for instance). Also, I’d never thought much about how lucky I am to be so close to so many other wonderful, interesting countries. Again something I have always taken for granted. Thank you for making me think!

Thanks-a-lot! Now you have made me homesick for the smell of fresh rain on hot tar roads! Just to report back, Nice biscuits in Oz are not quite the same, sadly, as Tennis biscuits back home, they have a coating of a kind of crystallised sugar which is tasty, but just same-same-but-different!

Jeanne – I have been a blog slacker lately, but am going to try and pull myself together to do this meme! Thanks for passing it along. And, want to hear a small world story? I was reading your list of expats, and realized – I am pretty sure I know st. claire! my now-husband and i used to work for the international teacher-exchange organisation that brought him to north carolina about 5-6 years ago. I remember him clearly – not sure if he remembers me! he wrote a story once for the newsletter i edited for the program – it was called the navigator. funny, yes?

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Jeanne Horak-Druiff is a freelance food and travel writer as well as a recipe developer and photographer. She is a South African by birth and a Londoner by choice who has been writing about food and travel on Cooksister since 2004. She is a popular speaker on food photography and writing has also contributed articles, recipes and photos to a number of online and print publications. Please get in touch to commission work from her. Read More…